The festive period scarcely over, rugby promptly embarks on the meat and drink stage of its season. The intensity of the forthcoming campaign will be heightened by the selection of a composite Irish senior and A panel next Monday following this weekend's latest round of European matches.

The squad will probably number around 44 players. They will come together for a two-day closed session on January 17th and 18th, after which they will be divided into Test and A squads for the imminent Six Nations Championship. Ireland start their campaign away to England on February 5th.

All of which adds to the importance of this weekend, highlighting individual and team performances. Thomond Park is already a 12,000 sell-out for Munster's return meeting with Saracens, which has been moved to 3.30 at the request of RTE. Victory would guarantee Declan Kidney's team a place in the quarter-finals for the second year running.

A little unnervingly, though, their inspirational captain Mick Galwey is still very doubtful because of the badly gashed knee he sustained during Shannon's All-Ireland League defeat to Young Munster over Christmas.

Munster are marginally more optimistic about David Wallace's chances of being declared fit, the Garryowen flanker having dispensed with crutches after tearing his ankle ligaments in training on December 23rd.

Either Donnacha O'Callaghan or Mick O'Driscoll would replace Galwey, while Wallace's obvious replacement, Eddie Halvey, is recovering from the flu bug which prevented Anthony Horgan and himself training yesterday.

Peter Clohessy and Jeremy Staunton have made good progress from neck and ankle injuries. In addition to Halvey, Ken O'Connell could come into the back-row reckoning.

Longer-term absentee Killian Keane had the plaster removed from his broken finger yesterday, and could conceivably have a light run-out in a club fixture this weekend.

Munster manager Brian O'Brien agrees that the win away to Saracens effectively launched Munster's season on to a different level. They've had Saracens watched since, during a run of three tough games over Christmas, and have studied videos.

"Their season has had its ups and downs," says O'Brien, "perhaps because of a little quirk in their game that's not allowing them to play at their best. But when they have been at their best they've beaten some good sides."

The stakes are altogether higher now, O'Brien acknowledging that "the further you go, the more pressure comes on". Depending on results across Europe, victory might even be sufficient to earn Munster a top-four ranking and with that a home quarterfinal.

However, the flip side of that coin, as Keith Wood pointed out in the immediate aftermath of Munster's most recent win at home to Colomiers, is that Munster could miss out on the last eight altogether if they lost their last two games.

Saracens know going into Saturday's match that they would overhaul Munster as pool winners should they eclipse Munster's one-point winning margin (35-34) against them at Vicarage Road and then beat Colomiers at home in their concluding match while Munster lose away to Pontypridd.

This is because final placings from the pool stages will be decided first by the aggregate scorelines involving sides on level pegging, and then by their respective try tallies.

Leinster thus look the longest odds to top Pool A, the only group where all four sides are locked together on four points. They won't finalise their side for Friday night's match until tomorrow.

Their AIL Christmas casualties - Victor Costello (rib cartilage) and Bob Casey (fluid on the knee) - are expected to be fit, as is Derek Hegarty following his recovery from the neck injury which left Leinster without scrum-half cover for the win over Stade Francais.

The shoulder injury which ruled Girvan Dempsey out of that game has cleared up, while Leinster are grateful that Declan O'Brien and Gordon D'Arcy were the only victims of the recent flu bug and are over the worst of it.

Glasgow Caledonians were beaten 26-18 by Ebbw Vale in the Welsh-Scottish league at the weekend, but in a clear statement of intent rested key players Glenn Metcalfe, Andy Nicol and Gordon Simpson.

Ulster's woes continue with the news that Allen Clarke (knee ligaments) and Tony McWhirter (sprained wrist) are very doubtful for their game away to unbeaten pool leaders Wasps on Sunday arising from Dungannon's Christmas win at Clontarf.

However, Spencer Bromley (hamstring) should be okay, while Jonathan Bell and long-term absentee Riaz Fredericks (injured since before the European campaign with a broken thumb) are available again and could form a new midfield partnership.

Connacht, who pay host to Steaua Bucharest at the Sportsground, will check up on minor knocks to Mel Deane and Barry Gavin before Glenn Ross finalises his side tomorrow, although on the plus side their Kiwi hooker Shane McDonald returns after his enforced three-week lay-off because of concussion.